Teacher wins constructive dismissal tribunal claim

A secondary school teacher who won a claim of constructive dismissal after she left her post following a deterioration in her eyesight which the employer failed to respond to adequately has been awarded £196,000 in compensation.

Gaynor Meikle, who taught domestic science at Gedling School in Nottingham for 11 years, won a landmark legal ruling after Nottinghamshire County Council appealed against her tribunal victory.

She suffered a deterioration in her eyesight in 1993 and resigned from her job six years ago arguing that she had been constructively dismissed. She said that she should have received full pay, not sick pay, when her eyesight got worse.

Speaking after the award announcement yesterday, Meikle said: “I hope that the legal judgment and the extent of damages I’ve received will mean that disabled people do not have to face this kind of blatant discrimination in future.”

Chris Benson, senior legal officer at the Disability Rights Commission, which supported the case, said: “I hope Mrs Meikle’s damages will send a warning shot to employers that it can be extremely costly to break the law.

“All her employer needed to do was enlarge the font size of her teaching materials so that Mrs Meikle could read them. Not doing so has meant losing a valuable member of staff and a lengthy and costly legal process.”